


Cold Hands

by ClarySage_Asassin



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Injury, Nerve Damage, Pinched Nerve, Rayla Loses Her Hand (The Dragon Prince), Serious Injuries, Vulnerability, What if Raylas hand never healed that would be pretty cool i mean tragic, Whump, but she might, does this count as a vent fic, happy anniversary to my ulnar nerve hope you’re having fun, ive had a pinched nerve for a year now, no beta we just die, no she doesn’t, this is so self indulgent, treat yourself babes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-12 16:54:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28888692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClarySage_Asassin/pseuds/ClarySage_Asassin
Summary: The binding on Rayla’s wrist may have been cut off, but the damage was already done. Not that she’d ever let anyone know.
Relationships: Callum/Rayla (The Dragon Prince)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 50





	Cold Hands

**Author's Note:**

> Slight trigger warning for self harm! (skin scratching/picking)

Rayla’s swords sliced through the air, sparring against Soren’s singular blade with ease. Or at least it looked like ease. In reality, the pain of simply holding her sword was excruciating. Rayla bit down harder on the inside of her lip to keep from gasping as Soren pushed harder against the blade. In a last burst of strength, she deflected Soren, sending him flying back and both of her swords against either side of his head.   
Soren laughed and dropped his weapon, and put his hands up in surrender.  
“You got me beat Rayla, once again.”   
Callum laughed and applauded from the side of the Katolis courtyard, cheering on his girlfriend. Rayla grimaced, but tried to pass it off as a smile and tucked her blades away.   
The seemingly permanent ache she’d had in her arm since the binding incident had risen to a fiery, biting pain that was impossible to ignore. Most of the color in her wrist and hand had gone back to normal but the feeling hadn’t. There’s still lingering bruises where the binding had dug itself into her, crushing bone, strangling veins, compressing nerves beyond repair. Rayla would even be okay with the pain, she can hold up against a lot of it. The awful tingling sensation however... She hoped she wouldn’t have to fight anyone much better than Soren anytime soon, or for very long. It seemed like she could hardly hold a fork anymore.   
Two hands grabbed Rayla by each shoulder and she snapped around to see Callum smiling back at her.  
“Dang, what were you thinking about? Must’ve been pretty deep in that mind of yours to not notice me sneaking up behind you.” He said. Rayla tried to smile back.  
“You got me. Just this once.” They started walking towards their rooms, and Callum grabbed her hand. Rayla couldn’t help letting out a gasp of pain and snatching her hand back.   
“Rayla?” Callum asked, concerned. “Are you ok? Did I hurt you?”   
“It’s fine.” The elf said. “Just a callous from practice.”  
Callum looked doubtful about this. “I bet Aunt Amaya has some salve for it or something?”  
Rayla just shook her head, mumbling something about it being unnecessary. She tried to discretely cradle her aching hand. Even the weight of it just hanging felt like it was dragging her bones down through her elbow and wrist. She could see Callum watching her. “I’m FINE!” She told him, “I can take care of myself.”  
Callum kinda laughed at that. “Believe me Rayla, I know. You’ve proven that.” He gave her a little kiss on the cheek. She blushed, and leaned into him.   
His eyes drifted to her hand again. She could feel his gaze. 𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺, she thought. 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦...

It’s not that Rayla wasn’t shown affection or love in her Moonshadow elf community. They may not tolerate weakness, but they weren’t cruel.   
But Callum just loved so much, it felt like she was being smothered sometimes. It wasn’t his fault, it was all he knew. His whole life, being loved had never been dependent on his success. His family had loved him unconditionally, and he loved unconditionally.   
Rayla had come to accept it, and appreciate it. Right now though, she really wished he didn’t care so much.   
“I’ve gotta go get changed.” She told him, desperate to get a moment alone. She could tell he wanted to say something, but he held it back, and let her walk off towards her room.

The rooms in the palace were beautiful, but it was so very different from her home in Xadia. Rayla found she preferred to hang out with Callum in his room, which was warm and cozy and lived in, if messy. This guest room was cold and dignified, the only thing marking it as hers was the artwork Callum had gifted her. Sketches of Bait and Zym, the forests and meadows of Xadia, the Silvergrove.   
Rayla set down her swords and started to unbuckle the wrist guards she’d wore while training. She let out a sigh she didn’t know she’d been holding as the fabric that had been irritating the already painful skin fell away. The relief was only temporary though, as the ever-present ache through her arm resumed. Moon above, she was close to cutting the piece of shit off. Her arm felt useless, cumbersome even, as if it had been replaced with a stump of wood, dragging her down until she was a broken thing.  
She sat down heavily on the bed. She could feel her bottom lip trembling. No, she wouldn’t cry about this. She COULDN’T cry about this, not when she’d held out for so long. After Zym had bitten the binding off, she’d welcomed the opportunity to let Callum forget about it. For weeks, Rayla had held onto hope that her hand would get better on its own. When it hadn’t, she had done her best to recreate the healing salves that Moonshadow elves used. Nothing seemed to help. So she grit her teeth, and carried on with her life, like she had when the binding was still there. She’d functioned fine before, and she would now.   
Unable to control it anymore, she dug her fingernails into her arm. It hurt like mad, but she had to do SOMETHING, anything. She wasn’t sure how long she sat there, dragging her nails up and down her skin, as if she was trying to claw out the ruined tissue. Even when blood started to run from the long scratches, she kept going, letting the blood substitute tears. She was so deep in her pain, she didn’t notice the knock on her door, leaving her with no time to cover up her bloody arm before Callum poked his head through the door.  
“Rayla?” He said. His eyes jerked from her face to the arm that she was sheepishly trying to hide. The look on his face quickly changed from confusion to worry. “Rayla, something’s wrong. I can tell.”  
She couldn’t meet his eyes. She wanted nothing more than to melt into the floor, to slip away into the shadows. Ever so gently, Callum reached out, resting his hand on her shoulder. Even that hurt. She jerked away from the touch.  
“Please go away.” She said, barely audibly. Callum shook his head. “I’m not leaving you. Not like this. You need help, Rayla.”  
She squeezed her eyes shut. “You shouldn’t have to see me like this.”  
He reached out again, this time touching her good arm. When she didn’t move away, he scooted closer to put his hand on her back. “We can help you.” He said. “But first I’ve gonna know what’s wrong. It’s okay to need help.”   
Callum’s voice was so sincere, it made her eyes well with tears, despite the promise she’d made herself. Callum somehow became even gentler when he noticed this.   
“Please let me see?”  
Still not looking at him, she allowed him to take her arm in his warm hands. She noticed him jump a little when he felt it.  
“Oh Ray... It’s- It’s so 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘥.”   
She forced herself to hold her arm still while he looked at it, trying to pretend like every touch didn’t feel like embers flaming up under her skin. He ran his thumb ever so lightly over the bruises on her wrist.  
“It’s still hurt from the binding?” He asked. Rayla nodded.   
“And you’ve been hiding it, using it, for this long?”   
“I thought it would get better.” She whispered. “I thought it might just take some time, but it still hurts.”  
Callum nodded solemnly. “I understand, Rayla. I know how independent you are. You’ve proven it time and time again. But you don’t have to. You don’t have to be in pain.”   
Rayla could feel her cheeks blazing. This intervention-sort of conversation made her want to scream with frustration. All she wanted to do was burrow under the blankets on her bed and never come back. Either that, or go slice something up with her swords. But with the state she was in right now, that first option seemed like the better choice.   
“I think we should go to Aunt Amaya.” Callum suggested. He looked like he was expecting her to lash out at the suggestion. But Rayla had no energy left to lash out. Instead, she let Callum pull her in close for a hug. She could tell how careful he was being to avoid her hurt arm, which only made her more emotional. She felt so safe in his arms, she allowed herself to let out the tears she’d been holding back for months. Callum held her tighter.   
“You’ll be okay.”

**Author's Note:**

> I’m back at it again! This has been sitting in my drafts since last March, so apologies for any errors. I’ve got some ideas for a little follow up for this, so if you enjoyed, let me know. Rayla’s hand being more damaged then she lets on is one of my favorite headcanons, so i’ve got tons of ideas. Thanks for reading!   
> -ClarySage


End file.
